Don't Rush
by Chairman-Meowith
Summary: After a crazy couple of days, Rose is a bit sick, but her Doctor knows just how to make it better. Lots of fluffy Rose/Ten ship, all very innocent and sweet. Yeah, I have no idea where this came from XD, not my usual style (I don't think so anyways).


The Doctor leaned back on his elbows, looking over at Rose. The golden light of perpetual sunset washed over his face as he smiled at her.

"Doing all right there, Rose?" He asked lazily, flopping backwards.

"Course, how could I not be with all of this?" She asked, gesturing to the beach around them. "It's gorgeous." The Doctor noticed that she hadn't looked at him the entire exchange. Her eyes were glued firmly to the glowing sun and the deep, purple waves that devoured the shore. He was glad that she was enjoying herself, it had been a very busy week. Almost killed twice, several narrow escapes and she'd barely scraped by without getting married to the king of Poindo. The Doctor was impressed. That was a lot of excitement by anyone's standards, even his. He stared up at the bright sky, feeling sleepy and immersed in his own thoughts. It was some time before he noticed that Rose was shivering slightly. He hadn't noticed the change in temperature, but he simply attributed it to his superior physiology. The Doctor was accustomed to much more extreme temperatures, but then it couldn't hurt to go back inside.

"Ready to go then, Rose?" She nodded, and stood, brushing sand off herself as she did so. The Doctor jumped up after her, perhaps slightly slower than he normally would have and they began walking down the beach to where he'd parked the TARDIS. A cool breeze ruffled their hair and gently tugged their clothes as they strolled. Rose sighed softly and leaned against The Doctor who wrapped one long arm around her. This was one of The Doctor's favourite planets. The air was almost pure oxygen, so he couldn't let his companions stay too long, it wasn't good for them, but it did have a very relaxing quality in small doses. Rose wasn't the first companion he'd brought, but she was the first who hadn't talked his ear off the entire time. He was quite grateful.

They reached the TARDIS and The Doctor released Rose to open the door.

"Ladies first," he said, grinning at her. A small smile graced Rose's face before she stepped through the blue door and into the inviting warmth of the TARDIS.

"Look Doctor, I'm a bit tired, think I'll jus' pop off for a kip." The Doctor nodded, running a hand through his unruly hair. He wasn't feeling very energetic himself. It had been about three days since he'd slept, not unusual, but it was probably about time to recharge, given the amount of running around they'd been doing. Not yet though. He decided to put in some time at his library, he was in the mood for something slow, Dostoyevsky, maybe.

x

X

It was well over twelve hours later when The Doctor's reading was interrupted by Rose shuffling into the room. He put down his book and removed his glasses, feeling a thousand years old, which wasn't entirely inaccurate. He'd finished _Crime and Punishment_ and _Notes from Underground _and tired of Dostoyevsky, had just started _War and Peace_. The Doctor did love his human books, especially the Russian ones.

"I met him, you know." He remarked, staring off into space. Rose looked confused.

"Sorry, who?"

"Dostoyevsky, of course."

"Oh, silly me, of _course _you meant Dostoyevsky."

"Yes, a very lonely man. Brilliant though..." He trailed off again before blinking rapidly, closing his book and turning his full attention to Rose. "You slept for ages," he huffed playfully.

"Yeah well, I 'aven't been feelin' so well." Rose approached The Doctor's chair. Even in the dim light, he could tell she was pale.

"Come on then." The Doctor stood, stretched hugely. He hadn't moved in quite a while.

"Where?" Rose asked suspiciously.

"Med Bay, can't have my Rose wilt on me, now can I?" His tone was light, much lighter than he felt. Rose grumbled quietly, but followed him out into the hall and in through a door directly opposite.

"Did I know that was there?" She asked curiously.

"Nope, TARDIS moved it for me."

"Course she did," Rose snorted. The TARDIS was always moving rooms. Something that tended to make finding things very difficult.

The light in the Med Bay was quite different from the hall outside, harsh, unforgiving.

"Take a seat, Miss Tyler." Rose sat on a stool, feeling quite uncomfortable. The room was the exact image of her family doctor's. "Now, what's the problem?" She turned her attention back to The Doctor who had dragged a chair over.

"Could you stop that?" Rose asked, shifting back.

"Stop what?"

"Acting like a doctor." She replied firmly. His grin was huge.

"But I _am _The Doctor."

"Yeah, but you're not _that _kind of doctor."

"I am so," The Doctor scowled at her, "anyway, what's up?" He popped the p.

"It's not a big deal."

"Rose," the tone held traces of a warning. So he was losing patience. Rose glared at him, folded her arms over her chest, she mostly just wanted to sleep. It was her fault for bringing it up in the first place, she supposed.

"My head hurts, stomach doesn't feel great, and just sort of tired, really." The Doctor nodded and stood up.

"Just sit there for a moment," he murmured, digging through various drawers. A few moments later he shouted triumphantly, "aha, got you!" The Doctor turned to stand in front of Rose, "say 'ah'."

Rose opened her mouth, thinking that he was probably still enjoying himself too much. The Doctor slid the thermometer under her tongue and sat back down. He wasn't too worried. Rose was healthy enough to argue with him anyways. It was just a precaution. She'd had such a long week, The Doctor figured that she just needed to rest. Humans were fragile after all. The thermometer beeped and he Doctor pulled it out of Rose's mouth. He looked at the tiny screen and went to clean it.

"Well?" Rose asked impatiently. The Doctor finished, stored the thermometer and went back to Rose. He reached out to feel her forehead then cheek with the palm of his hand.

"You, Rose Tyler, are just fine. Just a cold I imagine. Nothing at all to worry about."

"Can I go back to sleep then?" Rose asked hopefully.

"Course not, we have things to do." Rose sighed. The Doctor's grin disappeared as he looked closely at his companion. He'd been joking. They weren't going anywhere, but he did have a plan. She really didn't look good at all. "Up,up!" The Doctor reached out and grabbed Rose's hand, pulling her to her feet. She looked dazed, blinked slowly at him for a moment.

"Doctor?" She asked faintly, just before collapsing into his arms. The Doctor's lifted her easily and set her gently on the high, paper covered bed. He hopped up next to her, pulling her head onto his lap. The Doctor frowned at her, concerned. There were plenty of perfectly valid reasons for collapsing like that and he hoped it was one of those. If not, it was going to be a very long night. A stray strand of hair had drifted into Rose's face. Absentmindedly, The Doctor tucked it behind her ear. He continued stroking her hair, playing with it as he waited for her to come around. Rose stirred and murmured something under her breath.

"Doctor?" Her voice was so quiet he almost missed it.

"I'm here Rose."

"Doctor, what happened?" Her eyes fluttered open and The Doctor smiled, relief colouring his face. She'd been out for under three minutes. Rose was probably fine.

"You collapsed when you stood up."

"Sorry," Rose moved to sit up and The Doctor held her shoulders, pinning her down.

"Just stay there for a few minutes Rose. Don't want you passing out again." He smiled down at her, to let her know everything was alright.

"M'kay," Rose was pleased. She didn't mind this at all. The Doctor stopped petting her hair, but didn't remove his hand. He pulled the sonic screwdriver from his jacket pocket and scanned her eyes, moving it back and forth.

"Have you eaten today, Rose?" He asked, easiest solution first. Rose thought for a moment.

"No, I don't think so." The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"What about yesterday." Rose shook her head.

"No, I guess not."

"Well no wonder you're sick, you haven't eaten or slept." The Doctor rolled his eyes, pleased that for once there was an easy solution. He helped Rose to sit, then slid off the bed. The Doctor held out his arms towards Rose, "carefully please."

"Still fine," she muttered, as he helped her down. The Doctor slid an arm around her waist to support her.

"Course you are. Now I know exactly how to fix this." It was a slightly longer walk to the next room, but not much. Glad that The Doctor didn't withdraw his support, Rose let him lead her down the hall, feeling shaky. When they reached it, the door opened automatically, something the TARDIS didn't do often. The pair shuffled into the room and Rose was surprised by what she saw. It was a room she'd never been in before, nothing unusual in that. But it almost looked like a bedroom.

"It's not mine," The Doctor seemed to guess her thoughts. "Just a spare we keep for times like this. The TARDIS _is_ infinite, you know." Rose turned to look at him, squeaking loudly as she found her feet leaving the ground.

"Doctor, put me down!" But she was laughing too hard and he could hardly make out the words. Startlingly, The Doctor had started laughing too. It wasn't his usual sort of laugh, something she couldn't quite identify.

He'd scooped her up, bridal style, and was carrying her to the middle of the room. Occupying most of the space, was either a large bed or a huge couch, Rose couldn't really tell which. It was absolutely smothered in deep blue pillows and giant, downy comforters. The Doctor dropped her onto the mess and she gratefully sank into it, still giggling. Their laughter subsided and The Doctor pulled off his suit jacket, tossing it into the corner.

"Rose Tyler, do not move an inch. I will be right back." He bounded away and Rose nestled down, making herself quite comfortable. The room was dim and she was worried she'd fall asleep before he came back. It wasn't a large room, the bed seemed to take up most of the space, but there was also a large TV tilted at just the right angle for comfortable viewing. Rose was just drifting off when The Doctor re-appeared, the door swishing open for him. A very pleasant smell greeted Rose's nose and she sat up, blinking sleepily.

"What's that then?"

"Soup," he said happily. The Doctor was laden with a heavy looking tray, containing a three mugs, one about the size of a small bowl, crackers and a loaf of bread that was still steaming slightly.

"No way you had time to make all that." Rose accused. The Doctor chuckled, kicked off his shoes and climbed onto the bed with her, careful not to spill anything.

"Time machine," he reminded her, handing her the bowl-like mug. The Doctor pulled off his tie, tossed it and settled up against the sofa's low back. "Now I want you to drink all of that because it's good for you and I can't let you starve, obviously. I can't believe you haven't eaten in two days." Rose made a face at him.

"'S not my fault. I was busy avoiding the slime king!"

"Be quiet and drink your soup," the king of Poindo had rather been his fault, The Doctor thought sheepishly. "What's your favourite movie, Rose?" He asked, switching the subject abruptly.

"Lilo 'n Stitch," The Doctor smiled at her, unsurprised.

"Well that's what we'll watch then," The screen flickered to life. Voice activated, The Doctor had installed that feature only last week.

Rose had already half finished her soup by the time Stitch was hurtling towards the Earth. The Doctor picked up his mug, blew on it before gingerly taking a sip. Exhausted, he set it back down. It was laced with a tranquilizer, but he didn't really need it. A couple of days wasn't a long time for him to go without sleep, but they'd been so hectic, clearly taking a toll on both of them. Rose set her bowl on the floor and yawned widely.

"Tea?" He asked, already suspecting he knew the answer.

"'M good, just a bit tired." Rose slid back next to him and The Doctor wrapped a warm arm around her, pulling her close. He'd spiked the soup too. Maybe a bit too much, because she fell asleep very quickly, her head falling softly against his chest. A small noise of satisfaction slipped from Rose as The Doctor pulled blankets over them. He smiled down at her, glad she could finally relax. She looked so peaceful, he couldn't stop himself from reaching over and stroking her hair. For the first time in ages, he felt perfectly content as he drifted off next to his Rose, thankful for the small moment. He knew, even as he hoped, that they couldn't stay this way forever. But it was his small forever and he would take it, store it in his hearts until the end of time. Nothing could ever take this time from him. This brief happiness Rose had granted him and he would treasure it above all. The Doctor listened to Rose's slow breaths, until his eyelids closed completely and he fell into sleep, filled with perfect happiness.


End file.
